Beautiful Antarctica

February 28, 2011

On this, the final day of “Antarctica Month”, I will get out of the way and let Antarctica speak for itself. Here are a selection of beautiful photographs. None of them were taken by me; click on the photos to be directed to the site of the (higher resolution) originals.

Yes, it has been great. I plan to read at least one of those books. I keep being struck by the fact that as far as we know no one set foot there for thousands of years, and that when they finally did there really were no more great exploratory journeys to be made on this planet. It’s a slightly melancholy thought, especially as outer space is looking less promising as an objective for that spirit.

Still, I’m glad people have been there and photographed such marvelous scenes for the rest of us to see.

If I had to recommend only one of the books I talked about, it would probably be Scott’s Journals. Apsley-Gerrard’s book about the same expedition would be my second choice.

It is melancholy. I sometimes wonder whether undersea exploration might be another frontier, but the sheer amount of technology required would prevent it, I think, from really being done in the ‘pioneer spirit’. The same goes for space travel.

Thanks Craig, for these compelling glimpses into various aspects of AntarCtic life and history! It’s so unbelievable to imagine the existences of these strange and beautiful creatures (referring to animal life and explorers alike) in their stark frozen and relentless environs, especially from the snuggly comfort of my heated, lit and blubber-free home! I wonder if having the dogs around made life more bearable for those long waits that many of the explorers endured. In any case, thanks again for this delightful reading!

About the dogs: yes, the explorers grew very attached to them. When Roald Amundsen arrived in Antarctica he had dozens of dogs and a plan to systematically kill and eat them as his expedition progressed; the British explorers regarded this is barbaric. Some people believe, however, that their refusal to use dogs in this way contributed to the demise of Robert Falcon Scott and his men.